The current status of faculty members’ pedagogical competence in developing 21st century skills at selected universities in Ethiopia

Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze the current status of faculty members’ pedagogical competence in developing 21st century skills at selected universities in Ethiopia. The study employed a mixed-explanatory, sequential research design. It was an investigation done by collecting data from faculty members (n = 322) and students (n = 327) through a questionnaire administered at the selected universities. It also used 10 interviewees and three classroom observations. The result showed that faculty members’ performance on 21st century teaching and learning competencies such as developing skills in critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, collaboration, communication, and information communication technology could not be considered satisfactory. The findings suggested that urgent interventions needed to be undertaken to develop university faculty members’ 21st century pedagogical competence in the selected universities of Ethiopia.


PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
Nowadays understanding the status of faculty members competence in 21st century skills has been taken in to consideration in many countries because there is a strong connection of the contemporary 21st century skills and employability.To this effect, concerned bodies give due attention about the pedagogical competencies that faculty members need to have in teaching 21st century skills.Specifically, faculty members require emphasis on the extent of faculty members' competencies in cultivating their students.The main purpose of this study was to examine the current status of faculty members in developing 21st century skills.Despite the fact that the issue of 21st century pedagogical competence is a direction to be practiced in Ethiopia's universities, the overall results revealed faculty members competencies in developing the skills is infrequent and inadequate extent.

Introduction
In today's rapidly changing world, 21 st century competence and the desire for high-quality education are more important than ever.The UNESCO (1996) four education pillars reflect the essence of 21st century competency in the education system.Similarly, in a developed world, there have been fundamental assumptions that can be used to guide judgments regarding what educational institutions should teach in the age of globalization.For example, practices of costly and valued skills, creativity, new knowledge and skills for living together, high-level cognitive talents, and emotional intelligence are among the assumptions (Zhao, 2009).UNESCO (2005) also noted the issue of shifting the focus of teacher education from a theoretical pedagogy to a methodological approach of teaching creative, project-based, and other problem-solving skills.De de (2010) also emphasized the most important ideas that we need to consider when considering higher order thinking skills such as collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, information technology, numeracy, problem solving, self-management, and study skills.Besides Freire (1972), who talked about the importance of critical pedagogy, Doll (1993), who described Pedagogy as emancipation, and Giroux (1994), who demonstrated the importance of authority and power in pedagogy are important educators who explained about benefit of the 21 st century skills.The rising global, social, economic, environmental, and political issues require contemporary global education (Battelle for Kids, 2020;Kirkwood, 2001).Therefore, as world economies become more knowledge-intensive, scientific knowledge, creative talent, higher-order thinking, and innovativeness become increasingly important.According to Sibbel (2009), nations foster these competencies through higher education for the next generation to achieve global sustainability.It's also a way to make a paradigm shift from the manufacturing-based economies of the 20 th century to the knowledge-based economies of the 21 st century (Friedman, 2017;National Research Council, 2012).
Teachers are held to higher standards in the knowledge society than they were during the agricultural and industrial revolutions (Pink, 2005).Faculty members should be retrained to work effectively in the competencies required to adapt learners to the conceptual age (Kay, 2010;Lee & Tan, 2018;OECD, 2011;Zhao, 2009).The Fourth Industrial Revolution (artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, and virtual reality) is posing new challenges to the current teaching and learning process (World Economic Forum, & Asian Development Bank, 2017).
Because of the importance of 21 st century competencies, competency-based education (CBE) has been attempted as an educational innovation (Kouwenhoven, 2003).For example, practices of costly and valued skills, creativity, new knowledge and skills for living together, high-level cognitive talents, and emotional intelligence to understand and control emotions are among the assumptions (Zhao, 2009).UNESCO (2005) also noted the issue of shifting the focus of teacher education from a theoretical to a methodological approach in order to improve teacher quality by teaching creative, project-based, and other problem-solving skills.The old university preparation system needs emphasis to shift from content and knowledge, which is a traditional objective-and-testdriven approach, towards sophisticated abilities and skills.These transformations are a promising way to revolutionize education or bring it into the new paradigm of twenty-first century skills (ATC21S, 2012;Care & Kim, 2018).Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focuses on education and contains targets for both decent work and sustainable development skills that attempt to integrate 21st century skills into the classroom (UNESCO United Nations Educational, 2015).Nurturing twenty-first-century skills was announced as a new route for education reform in China (Lee & Tan, 2018).Thus, because of the significant contribution of 21st century pedagogical skills, attempts have been made to improve the inclusion, and integration of skills in curriculum activities.Others associate it with methodologies such as problem-based, project-based, and problem-solving.Moreover, critical educators examine the skills as emancipator pedagogy in the critical perspective and affirm them as part of education for sustainable development.Therefore, these innovative 21 st century pedagogical skills have become an important perspective that has been on the agenda of the world.The advanced countries emphasize the challenges and distinctive aspects of the twenty-first century.They have also paid attention to the role of education, particularly curriculum and instruction, in alleviating challenges associated with the improvement, inclusion, and integration of 21 st century skills.
In Ethiopia, the Teachers Education System Overhaul (TESO) introduced project-based, problemsolving, community-based education, and problem-based learning (Ethiopian Ministry of Education, 2003).PGDT was planned to provide teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to become reflective practitioners (MoE, 2013).The higher education proclamation 650/2009 of Ethiopia had the aim of promoting innovation, independent thinking, and communication skills, as well as both cognitive and non-cognitive skills.The existing modular curriculum approach initiated a transformation from knowledge-based to practical methodological skills (MoE, 2015).Mekonnen Assefa (2012) worked with Jimma and DebreTabor University to develop more innovative approaches for higher education institutions.MOE (2015), in the fifth Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP V), has introduced some flexibility to the curriculum to enable differentiation.In the current Ethiopian Education Road Map, it is indicated that university graduates need a balanced set of cognitive and non-cognitive skills (MoE, 2018).
Despite the fact that 21 st century skills are contemporary innovations and make an indispensable contribution to pedagogy and education, issues related to the development of 21 st century pedagogical competencies face several problems.Educational practice has been with a traditional approach that doesn't help to improve 21 st century competencies (Binkley et al., 2012;Jeffery & Craft, 2001;Kay, 2010;World Bank, 2005).There has been inadequate intervention on faculty members that results in a shortage of competent teaching staff (AT21CS, 2012; Kasule et al., 2014;OECD (Ed.), 2008;Tettey, 2010;Voogt & Roblin, 2012;).Thus, even though the 21 st century skills and competent faculty members are essential for developing 21 st century skills, little practical attention has been given to shifting the traditional pedagogy and preparing innovative teaching staffs.
In Ethiopia, the transformative 21st century pedagogy is not much practiced.The traditional pedagogical practice has been common in HEIs (Damtew & Muluken, 2020;Desta, 2004;Tadesse & Melese, 2016).Similarly, faculty members lacked innovative 21 st century oriented pedagogical practices.In this regard, Kedir (2009) explained that teachers graduate without the necessary knowledge and skills and there is deskilling and de-professionalization of faculty members.In the same way, the pedagogical skills and assessment gap by Tadesse et al. (2018), lack of practice of differentiated instruction by Melese and Melese Solomon (2019) and the limited emphasis of teachers teaching methods to the world of work in Education Road map MoE (2018), seems to have neglected 21 st century pedagogical practices.However, these studies have their own limitations that make them difficult to pinpoint full-fledged issues on the status of the faculty members' 21st century pedagogical skills.
The study was therefore aimed at providing some empirical evidence in the area of pedagogy for the 21 st century.The discussion and recommendations of this paper shed light on the status of faculty members' to shift from the traditional pedagogy to contemporary 21 st century skills.It is by examining the status of the faculty members' competence in developing 21 st century pedagogical skills.Specifically, this study relies on the following basic questions: (1) To what extent are faculty members pedagogically competent to develop 21 st century skills at selected universities in Ethiopia?
(2) How do faculty members perceive the current status of pedagogical competencies to develop 21 st century skills at selected universities in Ethiopia?

Theoretical and conceptual framework
As the teaching-learning process is the result of the synergy of learners and teachers with curriculum materials, the learning theories also apply to teachers' competencies in teaching and other professional duties.The foundation theories in 21st century pedagogical skills competencies are not fixed to single theories, though the level of expression differs in this study.The behaviorist approach stresses the importance of observing successful and effective faculty members' competencies in comparison with their counterparts.The other theory related to this study is the generic approach.In this regard, Kasule et al. (2014) commented that the generic competencies are essential to viewing the interdisciplinary nature of 21 st century skills across different faculties, which is typical of this study.The connectivism learning theory is also a good foundation for this study.This networked learning theory combines "relevant elements of many learning theories, social structures, and the power of technology" (Trilling & Fadel, 2009).It is instrumental in creating a powerful theoretical construct for learning in the digital age (Siemens, 2006).The other theory which has a role in the accusation of higher-order cognitive skills is the theory of cognitivism (Weinert, 2001).It is an important theoretical view for this study as 21st century competencies need cognitive processing in the cognitive domain of 21st century skills such as creativity, critical thinking, meta-cognition, and problem solving.The social-constructive theory is the most appropriate to study faculty members' "pedagogical competencies" of the 21st century, such as imaginative thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, and other generic skills.It stresses personal agency in socio-organizational contexts as well as active learning, discovery learning, and project-based learning (Mulder, 2001).The role of the faculty members in this view, as observed, is to guide students to discover their own meaning instead of lecturing and controlling all pedagogical activities.
As discussed above, this study tried to develop a theoretical framework by amalgamating different sources and describing the contributions of each theory, while indicating the significant foundation of constructivism learning more than others.
Competence in 21st century skills is conceptualized and explained in various dimensions (ATC21S, 2012; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2009;Chalkiadaki, 2018;Mills & Kim, 2017).The conceptual framework in this study relates the concepts from the sources above in general and attempts to focus on supper skills alongside information media and technology skills.The supper skills are creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration (4CS) (Partnership for 21 st Century Skills, 2015).These 21 st century skills are the most important components, which are more applicable in teaching and learning and for students' future employment (De de, 2010).The skills are at the core of the teaching and learning process in 21st century education (Kivunja, 2015).This conceptual idea is comprehensive, including different models, and it also fits the adapted survey questionnaire instrument developed by Ravitz (2014).

Approach of the study
This research is mixed, with a dualistic philosophy that values both objective and subjective knowledge (Kumar, 2011;Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003).In this research, the researcher uses both qualitative and quantitative data and has the opportunity to triangulate the research findings from multiple sources of data, as stated by J. Creswell and Plano Clark (2011) and J. W. Creswell (2013).Therefore, this study has the advantage of including the voice of the participant directly, which can mediate the personal interpretation of the researchers' biases, provide more evidence, and have multiple paradigms for viewing the world.

Design
The design of the study is sequential explanatory mixed research.It begins with a quantitative research approach, followed by the collection and analysis of qualitative data.The purpose of a sequential explanatory strategy is typically to use qualitative results to assist in explaining and interpreting the findings of a quantitative study (Abdulai & Owusu-Ansah, 2014;Farrell, 2011).This design is preferable to concurrent mixed research designs as it reduces the analysis difficulty of merging the qualitative and quantitative parts (J.Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011).

Sample and sampling techniques
The sources of data for this study were 322 faculty members and 327 senior undergraduate students.Faculty members are important sources of information as they are basic actors in pedagogical practices.Students were selected as a complement and/or counterbalance to whether their teachers are equipping them with the competencies they need in the 21st century.The selected samples were 80% of the expected 400 for each respondent category.This response rate is acceptable as it is greater than the minimum response rate of 50% suggested by Kumar (2011).
The study focused on three purposely selected public universities in Ethiopia, namely Bahir Dar, Debre Tabor, and Injibara Universities.The selected universities are within a heterogeneous hierarchy in their generation.The universities are also opportunistic for the researcher in terms of access and consent in the process of data collection and validation, as they are working and learning centers for the researcher.
The sampling technique for faculty members was based on stratified and simple random sampling techniques.It was after stratification based on social science and natural science.The stratified sampling technique is useful for generalizing the study in the selected study areas by taking samples from each stratum (Kumar, 2011).The departments and/or faculties were selected with simple random sampling techniques.The allocation of the samples (faculty members) to the different categories of departments and faculties was carried out through the proportional allocation method.As such, this sampling technique is useful to generalize the study within its scope (Kumar, 2011).In this regard, (48.8%) of the faculty members belonged to the social science stream.In this stream, 24.2 % were in the departments of economics, accounting, and management, followed by 24.8% in the departments of teacher education and curriculum studies (TECS), psychology, special needs education (SNE), and adult education and community development (AECD).Similarly, 51.2% of the participants were in the natural science stream.In this stream, 14.9% were in the departments of mechanical and civil engineering, 19.9% were in the department of plant and animal sciences, and 16.1% were in the departments of mathematics and physics, respectively.These figures fairly depict the real distribution of faculty members' at the selected universities.
A sample size of ten from those who participated in the survey was taken for the interview as confirmation of the quantitative result.The participants were selected with purposive sampling techniques by considering representation from faculty members and students.It was also based on their lived experiences and consent to give information.
A sample size of ten from those who participated in the survey was taken for the interview as confirmatory of the quantitative result.The participants were selected with purposive sampling techniques by considering representation from faculty members and students.It was also based on their lived experiences and consent to give information.

Instruments
A questionnaire, interviews, and observation were used to collect primary data for the study.The questionnaire used a 5-point Likert scale, which measures the frequency and extent of each item as perceived by respondents.The scale is 1 = almost never, 2 = a few times for the semester, 3 = 1-3 times per month, 4 = 1-3 times per week, and 5 = almost daily for frequency.For items measuring extent, (1 = not really, 2 = minor extent, 3 = moderate, 4 = a great extent, and 5 = a very great extent) were used.The questionnaire instruments were constructed from a survey for measuring 21st teaching and learning.This instrument was developed by Ravitz (2014) and his team and is ready-made for teachers and educators to reuse and revise.The study used a semi-structured interview, with some of the items guided and the rest open and flexible.This helped the researchers collect more information and gave them the possibility to add items in the course of the interview (Yin, 2003).Moreover, the interview could fill the gap since it involves both the researcher and research participants in the dialogue and can possibly provide the lived experiences of the interviewee through the cross-validation of the researcher (Abdulai & Owusu-Ansah, 2014;Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003;Van Manen, 1990).The other instrument was the observation checklist.This tool is essential and trusted by researchers as it can measure the pedagogical performance of teachers clearly, even more so than other qualitative tools (Harris & Herrington, 2015).Therefore, in this study, the practices of faculty members teaching 21 st century skills were done using both the structured observation checklist and anecdotal recordings.It was to observe multi-dimensional classroom context-oriented 21 st century skills.It was also a means to triangulate the views of participants in the interviews.

Data analysis
In this study, the data analysis strategy was both quantitative and qualitative.The current status level was analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and one sample t-test.The analysis of quantitative data was carried out using SPSS Version 20.The qualitative type of data analysis was conducted first by transcribing the interview records, and then highlighting significant statements in the transcription.Significant statements were clustered into certain meanings or categories.A textual description was conducted in the analysis of the theme.Observation checklist data was used as a triangulation with the qualitative part of the study.Finally, an amalgamated discussion was held by combining and triangulating different information sources.

Ethical issues
In relation to research ethics, there will be many ethical issues that need to be taken into consideration, including informed consent, the welfare, protection, and privacy of the participants (Curtis & Curtis, 2011).In this study, interviewees were given the full right to withdraw, and their willingness to do so was mandatory.The researcher believed that any imposition to interview, distribute a questionnaire, and observe a class was with consent and willingness.

Reliability of instrument
The questionnaire instrument was constructed from a survey for measuring 21st teaching and learning.One reason for selecting the questionnaire was that, in terms of reliability, it had proven to be excellent and reliable in other studies (for instance, std.alpha > 0.90, inter-item correlations > 0.58).Thus, the questionnaire items were valid and reliable as they had already been tested.However, adaptation was done to fit the Ethiopian higher education context.It was also helpful to restrict the eight categories of skills to the five 21st century skills, which are directly linked with teaching and learning.The questionnaire items were tested for their validity and reliability.It had a reliability coefficient of Cronbach's alpha of 0.60 for items measuring critical thinking and problem solving, 0.67 for creativity and innovation, 0.90 for collaboration, 0.84 for communication, and 0.96 for items measuring information and communication technology skills.

Results and discussion
The main objective of this study was to analyze the current status of faculty members' pedagogical competence in developing 21 st century skills.The results from the quantitative survey are presented first, followed by the results from the qualitative part.Thus, this section of the study also tried to discuss results of both quantitative and qualitative methods using supportive literature in each subtopic following the basic research questions.

The current status of facility members' pedagogical competences in developing 21 st century skills as perceived by faculty members and students
In this study, the extent of faculty members' pedagogical competence to teach 21 st century skills was examined.Faculty member and students in their target class perceived the frequency or the extent of involvement in their pedagogical practice.It was based on practicing pedagogies for the development of critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation (four Cs) and information communication technology (ICT).These 21 st century competences which directly linked with teaching and learning as compared to the other 21 st century skills were the framework of the study.Thus, the analysis was in relation to faculty members' pedagogical practices to develop each skill.It was based on the frequency and the extent that can measure the practice based on the sum of the weights of all the items checked by the subject as the individual's total score.The scale was analyzed 1×N for not really/almost never as the lowest possible score, 2×N for minor extent/a few times in a semester, 3×N for a moderate extent/1-3 times per month, 4×N for a great extent/1-3 times per week and the highest possible scale score is 5 × N for a very great extent/almost daily.N stands for the number of items in each component of 21 st century skills.Thus, analysis for the sample t-test was on comparison of actual mean from the transformed data on faculty members and students perception of the pedagogical competency in developing 21 st century skills with the assumed mean (3 ×N) from transformed data.
As shown in Table 1, the current status of the pedagogical competency of faculty members in developing 21 st century skills was significantly found to be to a minor extent and with few occurrences in their frequency.One sample t-test result indicated that the pedagogical practice of faculty members as perceived by faculty members and students (total sample of respondents) is significantly lower than the expected test value.It is with t-calculated value −26.438 at p-value <0.01 for critical thinking and problem solving skills; t = −17.777,a p-value <0.01 for collaboration; t = −25.969,a p-value <0.01 for communication skills; t = −31.895,a p-value 0.01 for creativity and innovation, t = −26.964,p-value <0.01 for ICT skills.It also had a negative association with the expected mean in one sample t-test.In all dimensions of pedagogical competencies, such as critical thinking and problem solving skills, collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation, and ICT skills, the current status is minor in extent and frequency of practice.
The view of faculty members on the current status of pedagogical competency in developing 21 st century skills was also examined qualitatively.The analysis and interpretation were based on the perceptions and actual practices in the target classes of the faculty members in their pedagogical competency, with the focus of cultivating 21 st century skills for their students.Students, as participants and beneficiaries of the education system, also gave their perceptions of the actual classroom practices.The qualitative phase confirmed the quantitative by providing detailed explanations and analyzing exemplars with specific manifestations of 21st century skills.Confirmatory statements related to this are verbalized by these respondents: As to me as a student, the current status of pedagogy for 21 st century skills is at a lower level of extent and is seldom practiced in occurrences.Teachers try to engage students to learn new things like new selected seeds in our course of plant science.They want to engage us to be involved in a new project, despite the fact that it is difficult to make the project effective.Strive for new ideas as the course is new. . .I tried to think of alternative scenarios.The communication pattern is a kind of teacher's domination; students as listeners and teachers as tellers.There is no dialogical communication. . .It is difficult to present with other media other than written language.We are more focused on the PowerPoint of word transmission.In relation to collaboration, students are accustomed to forming their own groups outside the class, but the classroom is for teacher lecture.Information and communication technology for learning is still at a minimum.We are more of with theoretical knowledge and even we are not able to use SAS software for our learning . . ."There is little practical engagement in using technology as a learning tool.(S1) In connection with this, faculty members (FM1, FM2, FM4, and FM6) explained that there are huge gaps in pedagogical competencies to implement 21 st century skills.They assured me that the current implementation of teaching 21 st century skills is at a minor level of practice.It was not, as such, implemented as per their understanding and the significant contribution of 21 st century skills.They reasoned out that their target was to cover a clashed program with a time range of one and a half months for the course of the semester.They understand that they are under serious constraints to make students critical thinkers, creative, communicative, and collaborative.This idea was also supported by one of the participant students (S3), who said that at the university he attends, the teachers are not in a position to cultivate them to be innovative, critical thinkers, and have the ability to perform the desired 21 st century skills.He stated that teachers' job was simply to cover the content while ignoring the teaching standards.Similarly, FM7 explained that the pedagogy of 21 st century skills has been practiced at a range of moderate to below-moderate levels.Faculty members did not do much to diversify learning sources; they simply transferred content knowledge without creating new ways of teaching or new information.In his view, even though there was an attempt at collaboration, team spirit, and sharing of knowledge, teachers still have a common attitude that is affected by the culture of individualism.There was no common sentiment to do that and share resources.It was difficult to form groups for their collaboration; students wanted to form groups only in their region, which was ethnically based, which limited inter-ethnic collaboration (FM2).He also assured that in communication, teachers were most of the time practicing information sources from one source, which results in weak communication in their students, as students become silent in the class, and there is a limited culture of dialogue and interaction in the classroom teaching and learning process.Moreover, the current status of pedagogical practice in developing 21 st century skills is further explained as follows: . . .due to several limiting factors, my individual initiation to teach 21 st century skills is found to be to a minor extent, and I am not frequently employing the skills that I have started."I can't be able to make my students critical thinkers with reference to creating them as reflective learners.I am not able to make my students' critical thinking into action.I am attempting to teach the reasoning aspect of critical thinking to a minor extent.In the same way I faced difficulty making effective communication for learners, they are limited to copying and writing communication.Their oral presentations are less frequent.I believe it is difficult to make learning concrete and vivid by presenting it with alternative meanings other than the written form.My classroom seems an ideal given to me by which lecturing at a fast pace to cover the content makes my classroom interaction one-way.Really, my aim is to cover the course in two months rather than the real instructional time in the course syllabus.The block courses are very difficult to run.Leaving aside these skills, we face difficulty with the conventional methods of teaching.Collaboration-wise, I attempt to create a collaborative learning environment for students by making groups as per their ethnic background.As the majority of students are from the Oromo ethnic group, they want to be grouped for grouping to discuss in their mother tongue.The creativity and innovation aspects of 21 st century teaching competency are very low.Except for prescribing the already offered contents in the harmonized curriculum, there is no way for innovation and original ideas in the delivery of my instruction in the target classroom.Information and communication technologies (ICT) are also the reflection of individual learners. . .I can't say that I fully have the competency to develop most of the students in my target class.The usual attempt is a PowerPoint presentation, and I can say our students are not keeping up with the demand of the ever-increasing use of technology as a tool of learning.(FM3) Finally, FM5 pointed out that the status of pedagogical practice for teaching 21 st century skills and the exemplars for each skill were different.In creativity and innovation, though his department of animal science seeks this skill, the practice is by far lacking.In the critical thinking aspect, there was no more action or reflection.It was only a minor reason for admiration.It's important, but beyond that interest, implementation was very minimal.At least in the communication aspect of 21st century skills, he and his colleague had the habit of being open to engaging students and having good interactions.Their curriculum invited field work, which provides them with additional communication opportunities.
Therefore, the pedagogical competency of faculty members, as perceived by faculty members and participants, was inadequate.Even the existing practices of skills were found to have infrequent occurrences.In this regard, respondents further elaborate that few of them feel that they are of moderate status with a desire to improve such skills.Most assuredly, they stuck with their usual trend, which is teacher-dominated pedagogy, and that seems resistant to the modern one that is attached to cultivating skills of creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and utilization of ICT.
The participants' views on the pedagogical competency status of each skill were perceived to a limited extent and infrequently in the target classes.However, some of the skills have received priority and were moderately practiced, whereas others were cultivated to a very minor extent and occur less frequently.Confirmatory statements related to this were verbalized by these respondents: "Eh!In terms of priorities, I focus on collaboration, then communication, ICT, followed by critical thinking and problem solving, and finally innovation and creativity."FM6.Naturally, when I see myself, I support collaboration, collaborative teaching, and collaborative practicing; it is my fate.(FM6).One of the students added, "In our target class, students have experience with collaboration, and we prefer it as the well-practiced skill component our teachers have been delivering."(S1).Other participants explained that "in my target class, collaboration, ICT, and communication took priority, at least to a minor extent.But critical thinking skills, creativity, and innovation are heard only as names and policy directions."There is nothing to implement, even with an equal minor extent of other skills."(FM3).A student at First Generation University elaborated that ICT has been practiced to a better extent as he stated, "I observe that information technology is practiced to a moderate extent. . .there is the establishment of an incubation center for creativity and innovation. . .this starts to initiate students, though the foundation of students' creativity is almost none."(S3).Finally, FM7 described that for him, in one way or another, communication, collaboration, and ICT skills got priority side by side.However, critical thinking and creativity were at a lower level.
Classroom observations also confirmed that the practice of frequency of occurrence in the target class rooms was relatively higher with attempts at collaboration skills than other skills.There has been the practice of students being able to work together to solve problems or answer questions; to work effectively and respectfully in teams to accomplish a common goal; and to assume shared responsibility for completing a task at a moderate level.Similarly, in the pattern of communication with written products, a kind of question-answering dialogue with students about how they will assist while presenting their work or demonstrating their learning is relatively the most important skill.In the middle of the five 21 st century skills, ICT has relatively delivered as a tool for learning.There was a moderate "use of technology on the Internet for self-instruction," "use of technology to analyze information," "use technology for sharing information," and "somehow use technology as a tool for learning."However, skills of critical thinking and problem solving, creativity, and innovation were practiced to a minor extent and were very limited as compared to the above three skills.They have theoretical knowledge but no practical innovation or creativity (S2).Creativity and innovation are heard only as names and policy directions-nothing to implement even with an equal minor extent of other skills.(FM3)."Critical thinking and innovation skills in our target class are at a very minor level.We learn very much theoretical knowledge; 80% of it is towards theory rather than practical innovation."(S3).
Classroom observation was also confirmatory of interview responses.The students' ability to analyze complex problems, investigate questions for which there were no clear-cut answers, evaluate different points of view or sources of information, and draw appropriate conclusions based on evidence and reasoning was seriously impaired.In the same way, students' ability to generate and refine solutions to complex problems or tasks based on synthesis, analysis, and then combine or present what they have learned in new and original ways was infrequent and to a very minimal extent.As a result of the combined data, the result revealed that faculty members' pedagogical competence, as perceived by faculty members and participant students, was minor extent and occurred infrequently.In this regard, respondents further elaborate that few of them feel that they were of moderate status with a desire to improve such skills.Most assuredly, they stack with their usual trend, which was teacher-dominated pedagogy, and that seems resistant to the modern one that is attached to cultivating skills of creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and utilization of ICT.
The study results are consistent with research findings noting that faculties did not possess the desirable competence in 21 st century skills.For example, Kouwenhoven (2003) found that the teaching-learning process in the universities in his sample was weak in generic competencies.Law in Voogt and Roblin (2012) also found that educational practices largely reflected the industrial model of schooling rather than competence in knowledge societies.Similarly, Kasule et al. (2014) indicated that teachers' competencies were not satisfactory in the roles of innovating, facilitating knowledge society, collaborating and networking, designing and developing higher education, and entrepreneurship.Recognizing the above situation, the Ed (2008) suggested that the teaching and learning of 21 st century skills, such as problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and creativity demand a re-skilling of the current teacher workforce and upgrading the knowledge base of the teaching profession.This study's findings do not align with the expectations of scholars and organizations that value 21 st century competence (Binkley et al., 2012;Chalkiadaki, 2018;Darling-Hammond, 2006;De de, 2010;Ed, 2008;Griffin et al., 2012Griffin et al., , 2015;;;P21;Kibwika, 2006;Marsh, 2009;Pink, 2005;Ruth & Ramadas, 2019;Trilling & Fadel, 2009).Specifically, the result was contrary to the expectations of faculty members, as indicated by Pink (2005) and Kibwika (2006).Pink explains that in today's knowledge society, the 21 st century competence expectations of teachers are very high in comparison with the age of the agricultural and industrial revolutions.Other scholars' perspectives on the need for extraordinary skills and competencies in current and future teachers included constant reflection on already attained competencies and performance assessment based on professional standards (Chalkiadaki, 2018;Darling-Hammond, 2006;Marsh, 2009).The result of this study is not in line with Binkley et al. (2012) position on shifting workplace requirements.For these authors, the change that is required in education and training should be to equip the emerging workforce with the skills required for the twenty-first century.The status of the selected university faculty members was not as stated in this literature, as their engagement was in traditional methods of conventional pedagogy.It has been argued that, nowadays, education has to be able to meet the needs of more abstract working conditions, emphasizing "new" transferrable skills such as information and technological skills, the ability to learn, collaborate, and solve problems, empathy skills, social activity, and entrepreneurial skills instead of subjectspecific content knowledge to foster citizenship for the future (Griffin et al., 2012).The result of this research cannot possibly produce learners with the competence suggested by scholars.According to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (2015), teachers must produce learners who are capable of developing flexible and adaptable critical thinking skills, accessing and connecting core content knowledge, and collaborating across multiple platforms.They are also responsible for developing social and emotional competencies that allow students to navigate rigorous life and work environments.Moreover, this result was not at the level of higher-order, deeper learning of important skills in higher education.In higher education, creativity, high-order thinking, and innovativeness are becoming crucial so that nations cultivate such qualities in their education systems (Sibbel, 2009).Graduates of the selected universities in Ethiopia were not in a position to demonstrate adequate competence for employment.In this regard, the faculty members' competence was not based on the attainment of competencies among the graduates, which is fundamental to their employability in the job market, as indicated by Ruth and Ramadas (2019).
The result was also not in line with the position of the Ethiopian Higher Education Proclamation.The proclamation attempts to create a competitive higher education system through a curriculum focused on creativity, critical thinking, and maintaining the values of the profession to address global perspectives (FDRE, 2009).In the same way, the status of faculty members' competence fell short of the expectations laid out in the Ethiopian Higher Education Proclamation.The proclamation aimed to create a competitive higher education system through a curriculum focused on creativity, critical thinking, and maintaining the values of the profession to address global perspectives (FDRE, 2009).Similarly, the Education Road Map MoE (2018) suggested that the curriculum must balance domain and generic skills as well as ICT for academic and research purposes, all of which were not satisfactorily practiced in the sampled Ethiopian universities.

Conclusions
This study aimed to analyze the current status of faculty members' pedagogical competence in developing 21 st century skills with particular reference to three selected universities in Ethiopia.The status of faculty members in practicing 21st century competence was not satisfactory.The extent and frequency of occurrences did not warrant the necessary 21 st century teaching and learning skills.The pedagogical practices were with the usual conventional direct lecture, which is insignificant to bringing a paradigm shift from knowledge-based instructional practice to the 21 st century competence of knowledge-based instruction.Faculty members' pedagogical competence in teaching critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and ICT were inadequately practiced to deserve the policy direction forwarded by different research findings.The instructional practices were not adequately linked with 21 st century competence, such as practicing problem solving methods, critical pedagogy, project-based learning, dialogical instruction, team teaching, community-based learning, discovery learning, and other modern pedagogical practices.In short, students taught through this method typically did not practice applying knowledge to new contexts, communicating it in complex ways, solving problems, or developing creativity.There could be lack of 21 st century skill based learning like project based learning, problem based learning and design based learning as a result of pedagogical gap of faculty members.This will have the adverse effect that graduates will lack the skills necessary for employment and success in the workplace.

Recommendations
Based on the result of the study and the gist of the researchers in the conclusion part, some ideas were forwarded.It has been understood that 21 st century competence has several advantages in a quality education system.Hence, the current status of faculty members' competence needs to be improved using the major paradigm shifts in the new standards and their opportunities to learn how to teach twenty-first century skills.The result indicated that, the instructional practice was inadequate to assist faculty members in developing 21st century skills.This is seeking the attention of faculty members' administrators and policymakers to examine the skills critical for students as well as the political will to ensure that educators are directly and practically involved in transitioning to 21st century competence by giving time, support, and resources.
Faculty members must abandon their traditional role of simply transmitting knowledge.Intensive capacity-building professional development should be designed for faculty members' inservice professional development.Moreover, higher education needs to be global in knowledge sharing, technology, and information to create a 21 st century knowledge-based generation.Faculty members must also support students' acquisition of knowledge, understanding, and skills in each of the learning areas through co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.Therefore, faculty members' reading, investigation, and professional development should be undertaken to enhance their levels of knowledge and skills so that implementation becomes increasingly urgent in the classroom learning environment.
Similarly, higher education administrators should also immerse themselves in the literature related to 21st century skills and workforce readiness to the extent necessary to bring about significant change.It needs to address the evolutionary demand for competencies in teachers from early traditional discipline-based competency up to the level of competency in the information and conceptual age.This should include not merely policy directions but instructional principles that can be implemented at the classroom level in the actual teaching and learning process.